XXIII. Scouting

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Lanterns were the only source of lights for the two bandits who were guarding their base. In the dark of night, they each sat on a wooden stool and placed their lantern on a table. The moon offered no companion, so they had to make do with the light from the small fire.The flickering light was the only thing which gave them comfort in a cold and dark night, that was of course if the beer wasn't counted.

Beside them, leaning to the table, were their spears. Although they were tasked to guard the base and remain vigilant, they were rather lax. Their stool didn't have back-support, but they sat close near the building wall and leaned their backs there. They would drink beer during their job and get drunk sometimes. Often time, they would yawn and almost fell asleep, so the beer was there to keep them awake. Although it sounded nice, using beer to remain vigilant was surely not a good idea...

'Ya 'now Tom--' One of them said.

'My name's not Tom,' the other interrupted.

'-- have i' ever made ya think?' He continued anyway. 'This job? Tom, this job is not needed!'

'As I said, I'm not Tom. Are you drunk?'

'We'a members of Skulls! Tha most feared bandit group now! Tom, my bestest friend, if ya think about it, no one wou'd dare to attack us! Wat do they need us fo'?'

The other guy gave up on correcting the man for the wrong name. He was clearly drunk,; the other man was grateful however, that he brought out a topic to talk about as he almost fell asleep. He wouldn't want to imagine what would happen to him if the higher-ups of Skulls caught him sleeping. 'I suppose you got a point. If anyone dares to attack us, I don't think they will go full frontal and encounter us. We are just here to be here.'

'Bah!' The man responded. 'If anyone dares to attack? No one dares, Tom! No one!'

'I won't be sure of that if I were you. Haven't you heard of the rumors going around since yesterday?'

'Wat rumors?'

'That two of the three generals of Skulls were beaten just yesterday night. The very same scary generals who got tattoos all over their body.'

The other man snorted. 'Impossible! Tom, I dunno wer ya heard that, but it musta be fake! The generals losin' won't happ'n, even in yer wildest dreams.'

'I would like to believe so. Really, I do. But I've also heard of other rumors which started just this morning. That-- there's this group called Silver Arrow who's targeting Skulls. Fact is: people say THEY'RE the reason 2 of the 3 generals lost, the Silver Arrow. Heck, people are even chanting their slogan now: swift, unwavering, and strikes sharp on target. I don't like it at all, not in the slighte--'

The other man slammed his fist on the poor wooden table and gave him a long harsh stare. 'Tom, ya coward! Scared of groundless rumors! Here ya ar', shiverin' on yer seat, coz of rumors! Laughable Tom! List'n, if such group ever comes, all ah need t'do, is ta just form a fist and they'll be runnin'. Swift, unwavering, and strikes sharp on target. Goin' home that is!'

The man then laughed and the other, liked it or not, followed his stead and laughed.

Both of them had joined Skulls because of the group's newly gained popularity. The newly-established bandit group had managed to recruit many more bandits and had themselves many bases now due to their reputation. The group's base wasn't just the one they revealed on purpose to show superiority and dominance. They had more.

'Even if they do exist, it's not like they can beat Skulls,' one man joked. He was feeling relieved because of the other man's attitude, because of his faith and confidence on Skulls.

'Exactly!' The other said with a laugh.

'Even if they do, what kind of group will attack us frontally? They'll never encounter us!'

'Yer darn right, Tom!'

***

'Okay, this reconnaissance is dumb,' Elaine said to Dunnford and Ray.

'I agree,' even Ray who usually fought with Elaine, found a point which they can both agree on.

Both of them were tired from having to scout two bandits, who were guarding Skulls' base, from a nearby ruined building. Their conversation felt dumb; Ray and Elaine both felt that they were wasting time observing the two bandits. Dunnford had suggested the idea, as information on their enemy was important, but they have scouted for quite some time and still haven't heard anything useful. Ray and Elaine were getting tired of the reconnaissance.

'Now, now,' Dunnford said in an effort to calm them down. 'At least now we know that we have a group name and a slogan now. It actually has a nice ring to it.'

''No one cares, Dunnford,'' Elaine and Ray said at the same time. They both then looked at each other, wanting to argue like usual. However, currently they were both on the same page. A rare occurrence.

'You know what I'm thinking right?' Ray asked Elaine. He stood up from a crouching position and his hand was resting on the hilt of the sword which was on his waist.

'A dumb idea,' Elaine replied, lifting her large wand on her shoulder and also stood up. 'But, I support it.'

'That makes you dumb too.'

'I hate to admit it, but it does.'

Dunnford wasn't liking the whole situation. Of course, Ray and Elaine working together was great and all since they always argue with each other, but his experience was saying otherwise. He had experienced such experience far too often. When two people who don't work together decides to do so, usually it wouldn't mean anything good. Something rash was about to happen and Dunnford could feel it. 'Um... Master Ray, Miss Elaine, what are you both planning to do?'

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